J.J. Abrams to Make Documentary Web Series on Google's Lunar XPRIZE Competition

This year, teams of entrepreneurs, scientists, and innovators will have the opportunity to compete for a $30 million dollar prize by landing a rover on the moon. Now, none other than J.J. Abrams is chronicling the efforts of these aspiring space explorers in a new documentary web series called "Moon Shot."

The nine-part documentary series follows some of the 16 teams who are competing for Google's Lunar XPRIZE, a contest that aims to incentivize engineers and entrepreneurs to create a new era of affordable access to the moon and other locations in space. The monetary prize will be awarded to teams who are able to land their own (privately funded) robotic probe on the moon, travel 500 meters, and send back high-definition video and images. The first team to achieve this feat will receive $20 million, and the second will receive $5 million, and the remaining $5 million has already been distributed among teams that were able to demonstrate progress in their mission, as Milestone Prizes.

The Google Lunar XPRIZE is the largest prize competition of all time with a reward of $30 million and aims to incentivize entrepreneurs to create a new era of affordable access to the Moon and beyond, while inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers.

This character-driven, emotional, awe-inspiring series of 9 short films will follow a selection of the teams currently racing to complete their missions. It will explore the lives of their charismatic, quirky members, the sacrifices they have made to get to where they are today, and crucially, what drives them on this incredible journey.

The series will be produced by Abrams, and will be directed by Oscar nominee Orlando von Eisiedel, best known for the documentary Virunga, which followed conservationists' efforts to protect Virunga National Park from poachers. It will be available on Google Play on March 15 and on YouTube on March 17.